Chapter 409: Chapter 31: The General Mansion’s Cast-Off Cannon Fodder Wife

Jiang Lai sat on the chair, leisurely supporting her head as she watched the frantic Madam Zhao.

“Mother, someone must have told you about the situation back then, right? It was Jiang Yu who shot at me first, my arrow only missed its target; how can you say that I’m the one who harmed her?”

Madam Zhao didn’t care about any of that, she only knew that Jiang Lai’s arrow caused Jiang Yu to be a cripple for life.

Her heart felt like it was being torn apart; the daughter she painstakingly protected had been destroyed by Jiang Lai today!

From now on, Jiang Yu could no longer dance, nor maintain the demeanor of a noble lady. Which noble young master would still want to marry such a Jiang Yu?

Madam Zhao wished she could tear Jiang Lai apart, full of resentment as to why it wasn’t Jiang Lai who had her foot crushed back then.

“You venomous woman! You’ve been jealous of your sister’s superiority since childhood, and now you’re happy, aren’t you? The legitimate daughter of the Marquis Mansion has become disabled, are you satisfied?!”

“Madam Zhao, isn’t Jiang Yu your biological daughter?”

Jiang Lai’s sudden question caught Madam Zhao off guard, calming her frenzy.

She panicked inside and instinctively denied it sharply.

“What nonsense are you saying! If you continue spouting nonsense, I’ll tear your mouth off!”

“Nonsense? Madam Zhao, everyone can see for themselves how you treat Jiang Yu. It was clearly she who harmed me first, yet here you are blaming me in the end?

I barely escaped with my life and you didn’t come to console me, but when Jiang Yu reaped the bitter fruit of her actions, you were heartbroken. Madam Zhao, everyone can see clearly who your biological daughter is.”

Although Jiang Lai’s tone was teasing, the coldness and suspicion in her eyes made Madam Zhao genuinely afraid.

Surrounded by people, Madam Zhao was suddenly flustered. She wished she could rush forward to cover Jiang Lai’s mouth, but was stopped and could only stand in place, listening to Jiang Lai reveal the secret she had hidden for over a decade.

Usually considered a smart woman, Madam Zhao had always used endless methods to torment Jiang Lai without being easily discovered; but once it involved Jiang Yu, she would lose her composure, like now, with Jiang Yu crippled, Madam Zhao felt her world was collapsing.

It was collapsing, but not entirely.

Because if Jiang Yu’s true identity were discovered, that would be true collapse.

“Jiang Lai, I am your birth mother! Are you denying your own mother now?”

“If you keep arguing, I might just get someone to investigate whether you really are my birth mother.”

Heartbroken, Madam Zhao left, and even Chun Yue couldn’t help but mumble a few words.

“What kind of mother is this…”

Even a servant girl like her could see that it was Jiang Yu who harmed people first. If she hadn’t hit the horse’s leg, would the Madam’s arrow have missed?

It’s the classic tale of the perpetrator harming themselves in the end; Madam Zhao, as the mother, didn’t come to worry about her daughter’s safety, but started scolding instead. Who wouldn’t doubt if she was the Madam’s real mother?

On the other side, Madam Zhao stood desolate outside, looking into the house.

Her biological daughter lay on the bed, having lost the will to live, with the Marquis and Madam by her side, offering comfort, while Madam Zhao didn’t even have the right to go forward for a closer look.

Until Jiang Yu tired from crying, and the Marquis, looking exhausted, came out, his eyes showing some irritation as he looked at Madam Zhao.

“Why are you here too?”

“I… I heard Yu’er had an accident. After all, she is the legitimate daughter of our Marquis Mansion, and it’s such a big matter, I wanted to see if there was anything I could help with.”

“If you could handle that precious daughter of yours, that would be a great help to me! Jiang Lai has been in the General Mansion for so long without bringing back any news, and now, when Iron General sees me, he barely even greets me, let alone speaks more!

What does Jiang Lai mean by this? Married up to a noble status and ignoring the Marquis Mansion, is that it?!”

Madam Zhao felt even more resentful than the Marquis at heart.

That cursed Jiang Lai, stepping over her Yu’er to marry Tie Yi, becoming an ungrateful ingrate! She also caused her Yu’er to be ridiculed by so many people!

“Master, Tie Yi never looked up to Jiang Lai from the start; he only kept Jiang Lai as his wife because he was forced to. Now, the power of life and death of our Marquis Mansion is in his hands, why not replace Jiang Lai and marry Yu’er to him instead?”

“What nonsense are you talking! Do you think marrying someone is child’s play?!”

With reddened eyes, Madam Zhao knelt directly before the Marquis.

“It’s my fault for not teaching Jiang Lai properly. Now, as her mother, I can’t just watch her take a wrong step and never turn back. Master, if something truly happens to you, she, as a member of the Marquis Mansion, can’t avoid misfortune. Without family backing, her position as the legitimate wife will eventually have to be given up.

Rather than giving it to others, why not fulfill Tie Yi’s wish and persuade Yu’er to marry him.

Tie Yi likes Yu’er so much; he’ll surely agree to help the Marquis Mansion when that time comes.

Marquis, only by doing so can both the Marquis Mansion and Jiang Lai be spared, and Yu’er can live without worry—a triple win. If we discuss this thoroughly with Yu’er, she will surely agree.”

Madam Zhao was also reluctant to have Jiang Yu marry a brute like Tie Yi, especially not after Jiang Lai.

But by now, Tie Yi had ascended high, becoming the Emperor’s trusted aide, holding power over hundreds of thousands of soldiers as the General of the Country, influencing the entire court. Although marrying Jiang Yu off would be somewhat regrettable, at least it would ensure her future luxury and the safety of the Marquis Mansion.

The Marquis’s silence indicated his stance.

“That’s a suggestion, but isn’t it inappropriate for Jiang Lai to continue staying in the General Mansion if that’s the case?”

How could it make sense for two sisters to share the same husband? People in the Capital City would definitely mock the Marquis Mansion for sending both daughters just to curry favor with the Iron General.

Madam Zhao disregarded all this.

“By then, just dismiss Jiang Lai, and when the Marquis Mansion is safe, she can come back to continue enjoying her good life. Anyway, only Yu’er can accomplish this matter, and Jiang Lai’s continued stay in the General Mansion is just a waste of time.”

The Marquis informed Madam Zhao of this discussion.

The counterpart was silent for a while before finally gritting her teeth and saying.

“This is indeed the only way.”

Tie Yi initially wanted Jiang Yu, didn’t he? Now that they were voluntarily sending her over, surely he wouldn’t stand by and watch the Marquis Mansion suffer in the future.

In the evening, once the maid lit the lamp and left, Madam sat by Jiang Yu’s bed and relayed the day’s discussion verbatim.

“I know it wrongs you to do this, but in your current state… Tie Yi is already the best choice.”

Jiang Yu clutched the brocade tightly, her face pale with tears as big as beans falling down, like she was gravely wronged.

The Madam was heartbroken, constantly wiping the tears from Jiang Yu’s eyes with a handkerchief.

“Good child, just look at Jiang Lai; you’ll only fare better in the General Mansion. Now that Tie Yi is the Emperor’s favorite, even the princes are currying favor, and his status and power are not inferior to those of the Princes.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep